knitting kitchen

I went on a mitten spree…

February and January mittens with ends woven in and everything!
Which led to this

One October mitten, sans thumb, ends still loose.
It’s the October mitten from the same book by Katie Nagourney and Ann Swanson. I wanted to knit the mittens in the same Berroco Alpaca Light only using non-traditional colors. I purposely picked colors that were close in value, but it made it very difficult to see the pattern. I threatened to rip it out twice but was stopped by my daughter and husband. The love them. Of course, when I challenged M to tell me just what the pattern was (as the mitten was still in progress) he said, ” Anyone can see it’s a fish in a tree!” Yes, I guess they can.

I’d finished October mitten #1 just as we pulled into the parking lot of Mystic River Yarns. I left the store with a small bag of Lamb’s Pride Nature Spun Sport in some interesting colors. I’m not sure why I’m on this thing with colors of similar value, but I’ll guess it’s a reaction to my O.D. of red and white.

When I got home that night, I began to chart the idea for a mitten that’s been rattling around in my head for a little while. I posted a picture of it here last week. These are for M and they match a hat I made him in January. As Bezzie pointed out, it’s coffee and Pi. At M’s suggestion, the unobtrusive pattern on the edges, knitted to break up the long strands held in back, is Morse code. One of M’s relatives was somehow connected to the development of Morse code so I thought I would take the geek theme just one step farther.

One Coffee Geek mitten, only one.
By the time Monday night rolled around, all of my remaining brain cells needed a nap so I switched to knitting up a pattern for felting. My friend, Lisa Cruse, designs felted hat patterns (among other things). She graciously gifted me a couple of patterns and I got the needles moving. I knit two of these Amy Berets in no time and hoped the felted wool dried before it froze.

Notice the pie on the Crisco can? 

This one is in fuzzy Lamb’s Pride, double stranded. My first one was knitted in Cascade 220 double stranded.  I’m not sure which one I like better, but I really loved knitting such a quick pattern that makes a lovely hat.

Amy Beret in Cascade 220 before felting.

My goal for today is to rest up for work tomorrow and do my best to not leave my house, thus avoiding the 8 degree weather. If that means I have to knit and watch Life until everyone gets home at 2, then I’ll have to suffer through it.